July 19, 2009

Food at Cornell: Two Trucks. Two Legacies. One Delicious Debate.

Since the North Campus Residential Initiative went into effect, moving all members of the freshman class to North, Louie’s Lunch has seen many more young faces lined up expectantly awaiting a sandwich, milk shake or cup of coffee.
Concurrently, since the upperclass students who have decided to live on campus are primarily in dorms on West Campus, the Hot Truck has been doing a good deal of business with older Cornellians. As a result, the long-standing rivalry — one that is almost exclusively limited to students as opposed to the two businesses’ respective proprietors — has been complicated.
LOYALTY
But this rivalry is a strange one, indeed. As if it weren’t odd enough to have drunken students waiting in the chilly Ithaca pre-dawn for a bite of a meatball sub, many students hold fast to their favorite truck with an almost admirable, albeit strange, persistence. This loyalty even found its way into an a cappella song a few years back — a song that many of us have heard time and again. The Cayuga’s Waiters bit goes like so: “Louie’s Lunch kinda sucks / Wait in line at Hot Truck” over a blend of vocals singing the harmony to Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Though it’s obvious who the Waiters prefer, the short reference is telling. Like it or not, it seems Cornellians hold fast to their favorites, even when it comes to whose chicken parm they like better.
After a little polling, it became imminently clear a few years ago that sophomores and freshmen preferred Louie’s Lunch to the Hot Truck. Conversely, juniors and seniors were indefinitely more apt to reply that Hot Truck was their preferred late-night source of what some call “drunk food.”
So, with our bellies full of parmesan cheese and our notebooks filled with items from the menu, we are proud to bring you a rundown of each of these Cornell legacies.

Louie’s Lunch

HISTORY: Though many people seem to believe that the Hot Truck is older, Louie’s Lunch has, in fact, been serving the Cornell community since 1918. Of course, at that time the establishment didn’t have anything even remotely close to the menu it has today and was not at that time a truck. It wasn’t until the early 1920s that Louie’s moved into a truck. Louie’s still bears the name of its first proprietor who took a cart around the North Campus area selling sandwiches to hungry members of the Greek community. Since that time, the truck has become a mainstay of the Thurston and Wait intersection. In the past, the truck used to visit various locations, but for the sake of convenience, has remained in its current position for longer than just about anyone can remember. Indeed, that stretch of curb looks awfully naked during the winter break and over the summer when Louie’s isn’t in service.

THE EATS: Unlike the Hot Truck, Louie’s offers a lot more than subs. Complete with milk shakes, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, condoms and even cigars, Louie’s business depends on a lot more than their sandwiches, but Louie’s offers a variety of sandwiches including your standard parms, but they can also whip up a grilled cheese and some french fries if that’s your pleasure.

HISTORY: Bob Petrillose was the man behind the innovation known now as the Hot Truck (which still bears his name). Petrillose operated the truck, at that time called Johnny’s Pizza Truck, from 1960 until 2000 when he sold it to the owner of the Shortstop Deli located downtown on Seneca Street. The original name came from Petrillose’s father, Johnny Petrillose, who opened Johnny’s Big Red Grill. In fact, the truck was initially an extension of that restaurant, but over the years became a more specialized entity of its own. The original menu was much more conventional than the one that graces the side of the truck today. Instead of “PMP,” the menu read “Hamburger” and “Hotdog.” Since its sale in 2000, the truck has undergone few changes. Athough Petrillose died last December, the Hot Truck continues to serve up the same classic dishes just like Petrillose himself used to.

THE EATS: One of the most interesting things about the Hot Truck is the menu. It is also one of the things that makes grubbing at the Hot Truck such an experience. Instead of ordering a meatball sub or a chicken parmesan sub, people walk up to the window and say “MBC” or “Gimme a CSC.” Though Petrillose himself was responsible for a good many items on the menu, students also play a big role in determining what’s available at the Hot Truck.

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